Style For Hire

Fashion is my game. I may not have crazy money to buy what I want but I LOVE to shop and I am obsessed with all the new trends. Sure, I can’t wear some of those styles because they are made for twenty year olds but it doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s up.

I have a friend who called me to tell me I had to get in touch with this stylist, Melissa Garcia. I laughed and said “what in the world do I need a stylist for?, I think I pretty much got it.”  I can tell you a million things I can’t do but getting dressed is something I can do. Some people know the stock market, some people can organize , some people can cook, but I can put an outfit together in two seconds flat. If I have one gift, that is it. For those of you who see me during the day, you are probably thinking UM, what is she talking about? She is ALWAYS in workout clothes. True. But for those of you who don’t I promise I do take off the lulu’s at night and throw on the skinny jeans.

My friend said, “Yes, BUT she doesn’t just pick out clothing and shop for you, she does an entire closet re-haul.” Now she had my attention. A closet re-haul was a whole other level.  My closet looked like a cyclone hit it. Fall and Spring I sort of do a closet clean but I wouldn’t exactly call it a “re-haul”.  I NEEDED a re-haul. I have clothes from Burberry from 2002, shoes from Gucci from 1999 and random accessories I knew I had to give away but couldn’t seem to part with. So after 20 minutes of convincing, I called Melissa. All I can say is – THANK GD I DID! EVERYBODY NEEDS A MELISSA!!! You will not even believe what she did….

First of all, she comes to your house for what is called the “THE SORT”. Mind you, I was definitely freaking out beforehand because I am telling you my closet was a NIGHTMARE! I have clothing in there since before I had kids! Like those black Theory work pants we all wore. I NEVER got rid of them. Ever. I shot her an email the day before our appointment to give her a heads up about the closet situation. She emailed me back and said “I HAVE SEEN IT ALL! DO NOT TOUCH YOUR CLOSET, IT IS MY JOB!”

So I didn’t. I shut the closet door and waited patiently for her to arrive the next morning.

It went something like this…

She opened my closet door, smiled and said “where do you want to start?” “Where did I want to start?” I repeated. “Um, what do you mean?”

She said, “We are going to try EVERYTHING on. All your pants, tops, sweaters, jeans, boots and tanks. ALL OF THEM. We are going to decide what we like, what we can give away, and what we can donate.”

Holy mother christ. I thought I was going to be there for 20 hours. It’s a good thing she told to me to wear nice underwear since I had to change 3,000 times. Truth be told, it was quick. Once you try one pair of pants, you fall into a rhythm and it flies by. I also will confess the process was emotional. I had jeans in my closet that I hadn’t worn since college. Every year I say to myself this is the year I am going to fit into them but deep down inside I know I will never be a size 25 again and I just had to come to grips and pass on the college jeans. I had a sequin tube top I wore at my graduation party in 1997. I bought it at Scoop and kept thinking it would come back. Who the hell was I kidding? I couldn’t wear a tube top today, tomorrow or EVER! We were both hysterical when I pulled that baby out. This went on for about an hour and 1/2. After I tried everything on, she sorted my clothing into piles, told me to go downstairs and leave her to do what she does best. Even though the process was emotional Melissa made it super fun and assured me that when we were done I would love my new-found wardrobe so much I would never even think about those size 25 college jeans again!

This picture below is just an idea of where we started:

 

This is what we collected:

 

3 HUGE BAGS of clothing!!! I decided to donate 2 bags to my cleaning lady (she made out like a fricking bandit) and one bag to designer resale. I am SO STOKED! I hope I make some mad cash and can buy some new spring necessities since I basically gave everything away! Melissa will do the consigning for you if you do not feel like dealing.

This is what part of my closet looked like when Melissa finished:

(note to self – need to buy all grey soft hangers from Target or Bed and Bath)

Now you have to understand because I do not have a picture so I need you to visualize – my closet had no order before. I had some shirts here, some shirts there, pants up, pants down. It was a mess. I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to walk into my closet and actually see sweaters I did not even know I owned. It was a bloody miracle.

Melissa, while organizing  my closet, was also making a list of items that she thought would kick my wardrobe up a level for the next part of the process which is called “SHOP”.

Ooh my favorite part. The deal here is you pick one or two stores that you LOVE and Melissa will do a “pre-shop”.  She picks out a ton of clothing for you an hour or two before you meet her. I decided to get a little wild and crazy and venture to the city.  If we were going to shop, we were making the trip to my two favorite stores where I always seem to do the best and I can afford to buy more than one item, Zara and Pookie & Sebastian. When I arrived at Zara, Melissa had a slew of clothing all ready for me to try on in the dressing room.

There was a reason I went into the city and not the Willowbrook Mall! Can you get over the size of the Zara Flagship store?!

 

 

Melissa found some item’s I definitely would not have picked on my own and I made out pretty well. Melissa really rocked it.

Next stop – Pookie & Sebastian. I LOVE this store. LOVE LOVE LOVE. This is one store I have never walked in without walking out with something even if it’s a pair of earrings. It is THE CANDY STORE for me. I heard they are opening in Scarsdale (so jealous, I may have to move!). I did want to mention that Melissa works on ANY budget and you purchase only the pieces that you love!

 

Melissa and I pulled a bunch of things. I tried on everything for her. She gave me the thumbs up or down and we were on our merry way. I should add here that not only is Melissa amazing at what she does, she is so much fun to hang out with!

We parted ways and I left with my goodies.

The last and most incredible part of this process is what is called “STYLE”. Melissa mentioned to me  in the beginning that the last step is her creation of a digital look book. I sort of just smiled and didn’t give it a second thought. Truthfully I had NO IDEA what this “digital look book” was going to entail. Normally when most of us buy a new shirt, we hang it up and when we are ready to wear it (normally a day after I bought it) we pair it with our favorite jeans and call it a day. I had no idea when Melissa told me about the final service what she was actually doing.

She did not say “this is where the magic happens!”

 

I was never a part of the “Style” process. Melissa left me to work in my office while she was busy photographing and styling.

The next day I woke up to an email with the work that she had done. I was beside myself! I am going to show you a few styles below but there were lots!

 

Have you noticed that not only did she pull looks together, she also added accessories?! She can do this with your whole closet! Unbelievable!

I am showing you this picture last because when I saw it I was hysterical. The Ramones T-shirt below is a shirt I have had forever. I practically wear it to BED! I would never in a million years think of wearing it out but she created such a great look! Just goes to show you there are so many things you can do with the clothes in your closet!

 

All in all Melissa is the real deal!  The process from start to finish was one of the most fun things I have done in a long time. I know hiring a personal stylist can seem very daunting. I think I always had this vision that a stylist would come into my house, rip apart my clothing and my style. Oh, how wrong I was! I would say I had the complete opposite experience. Melissa basically took  my wardrobe and kicked it up like 3 notches. Major kudos to her. The whole time I kept thinking how amazing this would make as a gift from a husband to a wife – especially for Valentine’s Day. Truthfully, I would never have even thought to call Melissa had my friend not suggested it. It was the best way to kick of the new year! Melissa is SUPER talented  (it is no wonder she dresses celebrities) and it is an experience you will never forget. The closet re-haul itself was a gift!!!

I asked Melissa since I LOVED the process so much and thought everyone should have Melissa in their life if she would be so kind to give my readers 10% off her services. She is happy to offer 10% off as long as you mention this article.

Please know you do not have to do all 3 stages. You can opt for a Closet Edit (Sort & Organize) or she can do Closet Styling (Sort, Organize and Style) among other services as well.

If you want more info, contact Melissa for pricing info and packages. Do not forget to mention lulu so you can receive 10% off!

Happy Shopping!

xx

 

Melissa Garcia, [email protected]. 917.400.8575